Page 48 of Enchanted Hero (The Secret Enchanters #1)
" H e destroyed a lab."
Dr. Kyla Conley, expert of bioscience, chemistry and physics, peered through the microscope, considering whether the presented fact could be undone by simply ignoring it. It was clearly worth a try.
"Demolished. Practically disintegrated."
Kyla took a deep breath and thought of butterflies and flowers. Rainbows, too.
"At a major university."
Kyla started to hum lightly. This slide really was fascinating. If only she could remember its contents. A rainbow?
"In front of some of the top scientific minds in the country."
The words brought Kyla back to the present, and this time she could not stop a rather wholehearted gasp.
This could not be happening.
Kyla's heart quickened as she gazed at the most powerful enchanter in the Northern Hemisphere. The physically powerful man, stalwart at six foot three and heavily muscled, inclined his head. "And to answer your question, ignoring it will not change that fact."
Abject shock tempered the mild annoyance his mind reading brought.
Alexander shifted, his black outfit at stark contrast to the silver furniture crowding the room, their surfaces covered in vast arrays of scientific equipment.
Ignorant of the dire situation, the cutting edge machinery blinked happily in shades of blue, red and yellow, their lights dancing on smooth, white walls, absent of any windows that might invite casual observers.
"Oliver Peters?" she asked, though for little reason.
They both knew the culprit. The young enchanter conjured more close calls than the rest of their people combined, more through careless actions than devious intent, yet the result was the same.
Alexander had already rescued him half a dozen times. Had he finally delved too far?
Would he expose them all?
"That's right." Alexander Stone shook a head of midnight hair, his emerald eyes blazing.
"Our wayward student at the University of Orlando.
Unfortunately, several professors viewed the damage up close and personal, including a celebrated research scientist. We'll have to work quickly to stop James Blackburn from revealing us as his next greatest achievement. "
Kyla’s breath hitched, seizing all oxygen from her lungs. "James Blackburn?"
She glanced to the corner of the room, where a stack of old magazines rusticated.
The professor himself peered out from the cover of People Magazine , wearing form-fitting jeans and a shirt opened just enough to see a six pack.
His muscular biceps strained from lifting a bevy of scientific awards.
He looked much more sophisticated on the Time cover, wearing his signature lab coat, however he still bore the same look of fierce intelligence that proclaimed, “I will discover your secrets.” Of course, he wasn't pictured on the International Journal of Biological Sciences cover, but his name did appear in rather large font next to a headline touting the new species he discovered.
After years of tracking, he'd learned their every secret. Would he do the same with her people?
The microscope quivered, as did the other objects in the home lab of the Conley Family Estate, where she performed research for the University of Ft. Lauderdale. She breathed deeply, and the shaking objects settled. "Did he actually see the enchantment?"
Alexander nodded. "Not only did he see it, but he already viewed the surveillance video. Repeatedly ."
A video and James Blackburn? James Blackburn and the truth of her people? Had he already embarked upon the path to the utter destruction of the Incantare people ? exposure to the world?
"Have you met Dr. Blackburn?" Alexander asked quietly.
"No." Kyla slanted her gaze to the magazines once more. "I merely sat in an audience of thousands during one of his infamous lectures. If he were to ever uncover our presence…" She shivered. "That would pretty much be the end of it."
"For now, the situation is not that dire." Alexander held up a hand, and Kyla calmed. It was not a power, but a gift of the man she considered a brother. "Of course, that could change at any moment. Apparently, Oliver has shared our secret with his girlfriend, whom he claims to love."
"He did what!?" Kyla shouted. The objects in the room jumped.
Alexander looked at her in disapproval. "You must keep control. You won't help our cause if you levitate every object in Blackburn's office while explaining the impossibility of supernatural forces."
Keep control with James Blackburn? She could do that.
Probably. With at least a 75% chance. Maybe 50%.
Okay, slightly lower. "I'm fine." Imagining a cup of hot tea, she opened her eyes to find it in her hand.
She took a sip of a fine apple cinnamon blend without caffeine.
"See, nice and calm." She placed the cup beside her, where it floated placidly in the air. "About the girlfriend..."
"Yes, well, despite the fact that enchanters are forbidden to reveal their powers to anyone less than a lifelong mate, young Oliver decided to enlighten his college sweetheart, a miss Sarah Johnson."
"Only he didn't just tell her," Kyla surmised.
Alexander grimaced the answer. "He thought a demonstration might be in order. So he created a miniature tornado in the biology lab, planning to end it with all the objects returning safely home, no one the wiser and perhaps a kiss from the lovely damsel."
Kyla clenched her fists. What could go wrong? Oh yes, a world-famous researcher could discover the truth about their people and decide to make them his next science project. "But that's not how it turned out."
"Not even close.” A tic in Alexander’s jaw betrayed ruthlessly controlled emotion.
“Apparently, Oliver didn't confirm their privacy, and he couldn't see the professor at the end of the lab, despite his enhanced senses.
Blackburn viewed the action up close and personal.
When Oliver saw him, he panicked, and the enchantment soared out of control, destroying the lab. They fled."
Kyla leaned forward. "But were they seen? You mentioned a video."
"They were seen but not identified. The video is chaotic, however they might be recognizable with enough time, technology and patience."
"All of which Dr. Blackburn possesses." Kyla suppressed a shiver. "Does anyone suspect enchantment?"
"No one in the scientific field would dare utter the word “enchantment” without definitive proof, not even with such a blatant video.” Alexander waved his fingers and a gleaming silver goblet lifted off the desk and flew to him.
He drank a concoction that resembled pure fire.
“Right now, they’re blaming a secret scientific experiment or a prank gone awry.
Fortunately, Dr. Blackburn believes in science and nothing more; it would take something far more substantial to open his eyes to the truth.
He would never believe enchanters and enchantresses exist right next to him ? that one could be his niece's teacher, his neighbor's doctor, the neighbor himself.
So far, we have kept our secret well. Everyone knows the dire consequences otherwise. "
Kyla shuddered as a thousand images rose in horrifying glory: camera-toting reporters chasing in endless hordes, government officials in big black vans with tranquilizers blazing, icy white labs with silver metal tables. Their lives would never be the same.
"We would be hunted, imprisoned and captured.
Studied ." Alexander’s voice was quiet intensity.
Had he seen the graphic contents of her mind's theater?
"Blackburn is determined to undercover the powerful device he believed caused the tornado.
Only we know it was no experiment but enchantment.
You must ensure we don't become his next experiment. "
Kyla’s heart stopped for a coffee break.
Started with a giant thump. "You want me to go to him?
How can I make Dr. Blackburn forget his lab spontaneously imploded?
Please ignore the Wizard of Oz moment and don't throw a house on me?
" Stepping in the path of the far too clever Dr. Blackburn was like presenting a succulent roast before a hungry lion.
He would be licking his lips, ready to feast. "If he suspects I'm involved, he'll investigate. If he investigates…"
"He might wonder why your name shows up in so many police reports.
" Alexander didn't need his psychic powers to complete the sentence.
"Like last year, when you just happened to show up with a rope seconds after that child fell into the ravine or when your ferry boat miraculously didn't sink despite the amount of water it took on. "
“Precisely.” Enchanters often used their powers to help others, from the proverbial cat in a tree to five alarm fires and beyond.
They worked in stealth and shadows, yet couldn’t avoid all risk in the camera-friendly playground of today’s digital world.
Their friend, Jareth Pierce, was almost discovered by The Scientific Institute of Research and Investigation after saving people from a fire, then becoming trapped in an elevator.
Even now, enchanters sometimes felt followed . Who else did the scientists suspect?
"You'll have to be very careful," he warned. "Keep your association with Oliver a secret in case Blackburn positively identifies him in the video. You don't want to end up under his microscope, figuratively or literally."